MB Design & Build

If you are deciding between contractors, stop thinking about it and hire Martins, I promise you will be happy with your decision. It is hard for me to put into words what an unbelievable job Martins did with our built ins and how much I enjoyed working with him. My wife and I were nervous because we had never done any sort work on our home and finding Martins was a godsend. In all honesty we are very picky and sometimes hard to work with (just ask our wedding vendors haha) but I cannot think of one thing we would have change in our experience working with Martins and how the built ins turned out. He is very good at what he does and just a very honest guy that you can trust with your project. He cared about how everything would look and function almost more than we did if you can believe that. His attention to detail was impeccable and is exactly what you want when you are making a big change to your living space. Every one of our friends that come over are in awe of our new built ins. Martins is a true artist!

MB was fantastic. I originally booked a deal for a complete bathroom rehab but ended up doing a lot more. They were very clean, responsive and professional. The final project turned out much better than I had hoped for. I highly recommend them

I hired Martins to convert my two-unit rental property to a SFH in 2016 and I am thrilled with the results. What he was able to do with my budget is nothing short of amazing. Everyone person that has seen it has commented on how great the place looks and the attention to detail of the work. After a terrible start to the project with a crooked contractor I had started with, working with Martins has been an absolute joy to complete this undertaking. My project was to convert my rental property to a SFH. Martins took over a project that was a complete mess. I had been working previously with another contractor, to dig out the basement and do the conversion. After stealing much of my money and not getting the permits, I had a partially dug out basement and a gutted house. Martins took over and put together a plan of how to complete the project and started working with my bank for the arduous post-renovation value mortgage loan process. When I was looking for contractors, the most important attributes are integrity, passion for their trade, attention to detail, reliability, and creativity. Martins scores off the charts in all of these facets. Martins took existing design plans and redesigned it in a much more functional way to use the space. He was able to take blueprints and high level ideas to create elegant and sophisticated designs. Martins is one of the most honest people I have met. He is clear about the risks of doing something and gives his feedback on whether he thinks it is a good idea. Whenever something went wrong throughout the project, he brought it up quickly and let me know the options to resolve them. He also has negotiated back refunds for me from some sub-contractors when he thought there were issues with their work, although they were imperceptible to me. He also only works with tradespeople that have his similar attention to detail and integrity. In summary, I can’t recommend Martins enough. He is a joy to be around and his honesty and passion for his craft is evident in talking to him and seeing his work. His rates are extremely reasonable when you consider he has a formal design background and his planning and attention to detail minimizes/eliminates costs from rework or mistakes

Overall we had a great experience with Martins.  This was a rather large project that involved renovating the second and third floors in a vintage bank building into an over 5000 square foot personal residence.  I had started this project with several other contractors, however they either did substandard and unsafe work, or ran off with thousands of dollars and never completed the job.  Needless to say I was a bit nervous about starting the project again after my previous experiences.

 

      What I appreciated most was that he tried to make sure that he was the right man for the job and could bring additional value to the project beyond an ordinary contractor.     I appreciated the vision and design elements that he brought to the project.  We spent a few months on design.  Martins was great at presenting ideas when I did not have a particular vision for a space.  He was also great at incorporating our ideas as well.  His years of construction experience combined with his design skills, helped us make elegant design choices that were also cost effective and functional.

 

     Once the work actually began, things moved along at a steady pace.  There were no long gaps waiting for one trade to finish, in order to allow the next to work.  The project seemed to be choreographed quite well in that regard.  While the tradesman who worked on the project, were often just one or two people, I was impressed with pace at which they completed their work.  The quality of the work was outstanding as well.    We made many design changes along the way, and Martins was able to incorporate them.  Any delays in the project were a result of our design changes or our delay in getting back to him with our choices of finishes. 

 

   In the end, we were able to transform a dilapidated old bank building into a beautiful home.  I could not be more pleased with the result.  We completed the bulk of the work almost a year ago and Martins checks in periodically to make sure that everything is still to our satisfaction.  Martins will always be my first choice any time I need any design and build work done.  Indeed I have already consulted him on several other projects.

We've called upon Martins twice.

The first was over a year ago and involved upgrading our entire condo. Since we have a very small condo with minimal storage, we left Martins with with a logistics challenge and a good deal of work to complete while we were on vacation. Since he had worked hand in hand with us during the planning stage, we were confident that he knew what to do, but we were nevertheless nervous as we returned from our Panama Canal cruise. It's hard to express how pleased we were when we saw our new home. The transformation was simply amazing.

Many months later a plumber hired by the condo association had an accident, flooding our entryway and, among other things, ruining a good deal of our newly installed flooring. Once again we turned to Martins with excellent results.

Martins does quality work. He is skilled, efficient and collaborative, and he seems genuinely interested in his customers and committed to exceeding their expectations.  I recommend him without hesitation.

It was fine.

Martins, did an incredible job of remodeling my place. He and his team removed an outdated fireplace, closed off some awkward and unnecessary openings on both bedroom walls facing the interior of the unit, replaced the flooring in the entire unit, the guest bath vanity and updated fixtures, built custom entertainment center, built a custom walk in closet, and finally, a new kitchen. Martins provided me with complete transparency from day one. I knew what was going on during every stage, I had his guidance on materials and finishes I needed to select to complete the job and he provided clear communication on when work would be completed. There were no surprises along the way. It was difficult and long process not just because of the amount of work being done, but, because I decided part of the way through to go ahead and remodel the kitchen. This, of course, changed the timeline considerably, but Martins was very helpful and supportive during the entire process and nothing was left to chance. I learned a lot from the experience. I am very happy with the finished product and given the option or choice, I would definitely work with him again and I wholeheartedly recommend his work. If you're new to remodeling or a first-timer like me, make sure you grasp the idea of lead times. Have an idea of what you will need to purchase and start off doing your homework early and it will make the process go that much smoother. Martins at MB Design & Build will give you a great space at a fair price and he's a really nice guy as well. I can honestly say he's more than just my contactor, he's a friend. Thanks!

We had them out and they were fantastic. They were incredibly helpful. They came out and looked at everything. They never did the design but they looked and told us it was going to be a lot of extra work. I would definitely recommend them. They were honest, helpful and respectful.

It went fine. At the end of the day, he agreed with our thinking on the design. That's, in part, because the space was pretty limited so that there wasn't that much choice. But he did help us clarify a couple of ideas so that we were better able to spec out what we wanted when we went ahead with the project (through Home Depot). 

He also provided us a couple of sketches of different arrangements of furniture in the living room. We didn't use those.

It went really well. I first contacted Martins in the summer of 2013 looking for an estimate of much work that needed to be done as outlined above. I'm very meticulous and research all my projects very thoroughly. I scheduled and met with 6 carpenters for the work that I wanted done but was most impressed with Martins. His energy and enthusiasm is immediately evident taking a great deal of time looking at the work needed and offering the best ways to accomplish it. He has excellent taste and is a designer with the skills of a seasoned carpenter. His choice of materials to use really compliments the spaces and has achieved the results I was looking for. This set him apart from all the other carpenters I spoke with. He said, "we will work to make your house beautiful" and he followed through on that promise. Martins is also not afraid to question you about your choices often asking "Why do you want to do that?" This may be off-putting to some but to me it showed he put a great deal of thought into what he was doing and challenged your own intentions in order to make sure you get what you want and avoid having any regrets after the project is finished. I admire that sort of conviction and confidence - it is rare to see - I mostly find people in this industry simply following the customer's wishes without offering a better or at least alternative practical and aesthetic solution if one exists. I'm involved in every aspect of a project and Martins always had the patience to explain everything with an excellent attitude.
Martins was extremely fair in his pricing and he and his crew were always very polite and hard working. This project was part of a large remodel and Martins was also always willing to help and guide me with some of the other aspects that he didn't directly handle. This ranged from electrical, drywall, stone work for the fireplace, heating, and paint. He has a wealth of knowledge but is also a super nice guy with genuine integrity and a great sense of humor - a joy to be around. I would without hesitation hire Martins for any other project we will have in the future.

He was very helpful.

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Great clean, polite and quiet crew. Project management was exceptional. Martins has gifted eyes and vision for design and how to make things work at a reasonable price. He works hard to provide cost-saving options without sacrificing quality of workmanship and design.

I hired Martins to design the layout and look and feel for my conversion of my 2 unit to a SFH.  Having just completed the design, I am extremely happy with the work that Martins had done.  Having used Martins on some previous work, I was familiar with his focus on design, aesthetics, and maximizing bang for the buck.
To me, it was very important to starting with Martins to design the layout and look and feel helped me to create a vision of what the final product would look like before working with an architect.  Martins has a very creative mind and a unique blend of attention to detail, professionalism, and style that has been invaluable in designing the new layout.  
Throughout this phase, he helped me understand the most efficient use of space, lighting details, and general mistakes people make.  He is great at helping prioritize what features are most important when trying to stay within budget and always has your best interests in mind while not being overbearing or condescending.
I highly recommend Martins for any building/renovation projects and am extremely pleased with this project as well as the previous project he had worked on. 
I would definitely suggest hiring him during the design and planning phase and would check out his site to see some of the previous work he has done.

The service turned out well. I would recommend them. I think it is a one man show, it took a little bit to get the design from him, but it was mutual, because I kind of dragged my feet, and he was out of the country, and had other projects and stuff, and I wasn't in a hurry to get the design. It was not a big deal for me to get the drawings a little later. He seemed responsive, and really got the message of what I was looking for. I will use him again in the future.

It was fine and they did a good job with the design.

It was simple and the job was done well.

One person completed the work in about 2-3 hours.  It was OK and communication with them worked out well. Scheduling itself went fine.

Job went great!  Provider showed up, gave me some ideas of how to best fix my problem, and then went shopping at menards and made the fix quickly.  He was on time and very helpful, and the job looked better than I had hoped for. Thanks! 

This is the second time we have used mb design & build services. Last time we used them for our investment property, and now to renovate our home we live in - it was a gut rehab. What I liked the most - Martins really tried to do his best. He listened to our ideas and needs. Communications during the process were fluid, and for us that was very important. We knew what is happening with our project, and Martins is always easy to reach. We did not have any major issues during the construction process - everything seemed to be well organized. I would not say that he is the most cheapest contractor; we compared couple other firms, but the service was so good and the quality also looks outstanding. Since Martins also redesigned our place, he took care of all the design aspects as well. I really think we made a good choice by choosing mb design & build to  design and renovate our home.

Great. Dependable . Professional work.

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This project took a while but there was a lot to be done and some items that were ordered took time before they were delivered, example, the door and window unit. The quality is very good and the end result is wonderful !

Buka's work is excellent.  He listens carefully to your concerns and comes up with possible solutions that are much better than you imagined.